


Diagnosed

by Violent_Bulldog



Category: Beetlejuice - All Media Types
Genre: :), Am I Projecting? You'll never know, Autism, Autistic Beetlejuice, Autistic Lydia Deetz, Biting, Comfort, Crappy Story, Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Muteness, Other, Stim Toys, Stimming, Stimming Toys, binge eating, chew toys, mild Self-harm, selective mutism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:07:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22699888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violent_Bulldog/pseuds/Violent_Bulldog
Summary: BJ notices something about Lydia and it leads to a big revelation for both of them
Relationships: Adam Maitland/Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Adam Maitland & Barbara Maitland, Beetlejuice & Charles Deetz, Beetlejuice & Lydia Deetz, Charles Deetz & Lydia Deetz, Charles Deetz/Delia Deetz
Comments: 10
Kudos: 104





	Diagnosed

BJ knew the signs when he saw them. He may be stupid, but he wasn't oblivious. 

He noticed the way that Lydia often chewed on her bottom lip or a pen or her nails, how she tensed up whenever someone invaded her personal bubble, how she was almost always drumming her fingers against a surface and how she was always humming some sort of tune. He knew that she was stimming, even though nobody else seemed to notice. 

He noticed the other things as well though. The way she obsessed over her photography and often forgot about anything else in her life, how she struggled to make friends at her new school and often sat alone at lunch, how she avoided eye contact whenever she was speaking to someone and how she didn't smile at someone even if they smiled at her. He knew the signs because he was the same when he was a baby demon. And after seven hundred years and multiple talks with dead doctors, he finally found out what it was.

Autism. BJ had autism and he was pretty sure that Lydia had it too.

After the whole 'Marriage, Life, Death, Eating his mom with a Sandworm' thing, BJ explained to the Maitlands that he struggled with personal space due to it and that he often got too close to people. He apologised and the Maitlands had accepted it, letting the trio ghost on in peace. 

BJ had spent most of his young demon times being insulted by his mother. 'Stop talking so much, don't click your pen, you're such a mistake...' The usual. He had been obsessed with different types of bugs, collecting them in small jars and learning all about them. He once was trying to find a rare type of bug and ended up not sleeping or eating for six days without even realising. He had a love for sweet things, gummy bears and lollipops being his favourites, and he often munched on them. His mother complained that he shouldn't bite the lollipops because then he was just wasting her money, but he couldn't help himself. He needed to bite and chew on things or else he felt anxious and an anxious demon was no fun for anyone.

Eventually, after he had been diagnosed, a doctor recommended that he should get a chew toy. BJ had asked if the doctor thought that he was a dog before the doctor clarified that it was a stimming chew toy. Whenever he felt the need to bite or chew on something, he could use the toy as a replacement from candy. The doctor gave him one to try and it became BJ's favourite thing. He had eventually destroyed it, so the doctor offered to provide him with them whenever he needed them. So, in the magical pockets of his jacket, BJ carried two bat-shaped chew toys and a UFO-shaped one. He was yet to break them, but there were clear teeth-marks in all three of them.

Lydia was doing homework when BJ decided to talk to her. Well, trying to do homework. She was knawing on her pen and frantically tapping her feet on the floor. BJ was sitting on her bed, being invisible. He often loitered around being invisible, just to keep track of how Lydia was doing. He watched as she moved one hand to the side of her neck and dug her nails into the soft skin absentmindedly. He nearly moved to take her hand away, but he knew that wouldn't end well. Instead, he slowly became visible and cleared his throat. Lydia spun around to face him, both hands dropping into her lap and her pen being dropped to the floor. He noticed her wince at the noise and tilted his head.

"How long have you been there?" She asked, staring at her lap. No eye-contact.

"Long enough" He replied, drumming his fingers against his knee. Lydia nodded slightly.

"Dad keeps telling me not to chew on the pens, but I can't help it. He says that it's gonna ruin my teeth or that I'm just wasting money because of how often I'll need new pens" She mumbled. BJ winced slightly. It reminded him of his mother, but he knew that Chuck would understand better once he explained.

"Lyds. Do you know about stimming?" He asked. She shrugged slightly.

"I've heard of it, but I don't know about it. Why?" She looked up at him for a couple of seconds. He smiled slightly.

"Well, it's kinda like what you were just doing. The chewing and the drumming. It's often a sign of autism" He explained. Lydia looked confused before looking away from him. 

"Autism..." She mumbled under her breath. 

"How about we go talk to Chuck about this? I can help you explain, I've got it too" BJ offered. Lydia looked up again.

"You have it?" She asked. BJ nodded and pulled out one of the bat chews.

"Yep. This guy helps me not break things. You chew pens, I used to chew an insane amount of candy. No wonder my mouth bleeds randomly"

"What?"

"Nothing, let's go talk to Chucky"

Somehow, BJ managed to have a semi-serious talk with Charles that ended in him doing research and ordering a chew toy for Lydia (and a new set of pens). He promised to try and understand it all more and to take her to the doctors to get a professionals point of view. And, for the first time in a while, Lydia felt seen. Properly seen. 

**Author's Note:**

> Is this my worse piece of writing since Summer 2019?  
> Yes, yes it is :)
> 
> This was meant to be a vent kind of post but I gave up half-way through it


End file.
